The role of sub-national government and the private sector in future spatial data infrastructures

A Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) facilitates and coordinates the exchange and sharing of spatial data between stakeholders in the spatial data community. With this objective in mind, countries throughout the world are developing SDIs to manage and utilise their spatial data assets more effectively. These countries are developing SDIs to assist in various kinds of decision-making at different levels of government jurisdictions that have an important impact within their national boundaries. However, current research shows that SDI is understood and described differently by stakeholders from different disciplines and different jurisdictional levels. Therefore, in many cases SDI initiatives remain very much an innovation even among practitioners. There are still uncertainties regarding the benefits and identities of SDIs, particularly in connection with how they evolve over time to meet user needs. This paper reviews and assesses the development of SDIs throughout the world over the past fifteen years and the leadership role of national governments in SDI creation. This assessment is based on the SDI activities of various jurisdictions including AsiaPacific, Australia, North America and Europe and research into the worldwide effects of spatial information clearinghouses. This assessment includes a discussion on emerging trends in SDI development, with particular reference to the increasingly important role played by sub-national governments and the private sector within the framework of SDI development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for future SDI development, including the delivery of a virtual world that has a particular focus on facilitating decision making at a community level within a national context.